There is no 'I' in team
by TheMoonclaw
Summary: As Fayt tries to teach his friends with predictably bad results.


**Author's Note: I tried to delete this fanfiction off my computer but the stupid thing believed in it's self and now I can't get rid of it...**

**Anyway, before reading the following, please read the following:**

**My brother and I played Star Ocean Till the end of time near the start of the year and were very much enjoying it...until we got back from Sphere Company the difficulty spiked and we couldn't beat it...then we were mad...and thus, I wrote this as a rant...so...it's more or less me complaining. But hey, read it if you like, but please understand it's posted in 'Humor' for a reason. (I have watched the endings on YouTube though, so I do now what happens.)**

**Oh, and I know I miss spelled Peppita's name a bunch of times, I just was too lazy to go back and fix it ;)**

* * *

><p><strong>Take 1<strong>

It was a peaceful, sunny day on the Irisa Plains.

For about ten seconds before there was a rustle in the bushes, leading to three Proclaimers flying straight towards them.

"Not good!" Fayt said, drawing his weapon.

He ran around the first one, trying to get in close enough to strike, but had to sidestep out of the way as it spun, flashing lights springing from the ground.

"I hate that attack…" he mumbled as the thing announced in its metallic voice, "Infidels."

As it finished the attack, he tried a second time to slash at it but was hit in the back by the second angel's Speed Hack attack.

"I hate that attack too!"

As the third Proclaimer charged forward, narrowly missing hitting him, he suddenly realized that he was fighting all three.

Alone.

He should have at least someone backing him up.

Fayt ran away, avoiding another attack of spinning lights, and then stopped, looking out over the battle field.

Cliff and Mirage had already been incapacitated, probably from MP drainage.

Roger was hiding while Peppita seemed to be stunned, although he wasn't expecting them to be major players in the fight.

Despite the fact that Adray was a Symbologist, he rushed forward into the fray, only to get zapped by an attack and go down face first into the ground.

Fayt winced in sympathy and then heard, "Not nice!" indicating that Sophia's spell had been interrupted.

Upon seeing her, all the way on the other end of the battle field, he could see that no one was covering for her. Luckily she realized this as well and started running from the angel being.

Nel went flying across the whole field and skidded along the ground once she hit it, right past Albel. He watched impassively, leaning against a boulder.

Fayt rolled his eyes. This wasn't the first time he hadn't helped out in a fight. Apparently he thought it wasn't worth his time.

Or something like that.

The only person left was Maria, who, rather then shooting the enemies with her gun was casting Power Up on everyone.

Fayt sighed and rubbed a hand across his eyes, "Just another day…"

He looked back up to see that with everyone else busy or knocked out, he was the only target left.

The Proclaimers all switched direction and started to fly towards him.

"Retreat!"

The sun was shinning on the streets of Aquios where the group fled too. It had been their destination anyway, but now instead of just checking the weapon shop for new equipment, they had just stepped outside the inn.

"Okay," Fayt said rounding on everyone, "what did we learn today?"

Sophia frowned, "That we still can't beat Proclaimers?"

He sighed, "Yes, but not just that. We have to work on our teamwork. Seriously."

There were grumbles and glances and shifting feet. He knew it wasn't going to be a popular subject, but unless they straightened it out, they wouldn't have a chance to stop the Owner.

"I know we don't want to talk about it, but we're going to get totally tenderized by Luther if we don't work on it." Fayt explained.

Maria shook her head, "Our teamwork has never been a problem before. I think it's just that it was an ambush that caused us so much trouble today."

Fayt gave her a dumbfounded look, "Were you not in the same battle I was today? Nearly everyone got KO'd in ten seconds and we had to run, _again_! No one was covering our spell casters, no one was using the buddy system and honestly, I have no idea what Albel was even doing!"

Albel shrugged, obviously unconcerned.

Taking a deep breath, Fayt exhaled and looked up, "I'm not asking for much, but let's just try and stay together in the battles, using our skills to work together instead of everyone just running in there head first."

Everyone agreed that they could at least try that.

As they wandered up the street, Fayt remembered some of the first battle advice he'd gotten when this whole crazy journey began.

After the first battle Cliff had told him, "Moron! Know your enemy before you strike the first blow."

It had seemed like good advice…until he realized how ludicrous it was coming from the Klausian who ran straight at an opponent before even checking if it was an ambush.

Nel's had made a bit more sense when she'd told him seriously, "Death awaits the overconfident, remember that."

However, even that was skewed logic since Albel was still alive. Maria too for that matter. Last time they won a battle she announced that she was destined for greatness.

Fayt snorted, "_You can't get much more overconfident then this group_."

For such a ragtag, disorganized and prideful group, they had made it this far. Maybe the others were right, maybe their teamwork wasn't so bad.

* * *

><p><strong>Force<strong>

"What are we going to do if the Owner won't listen to us?" Sophia asked one night as they were approaching the inn.

Fayt opened his mouth to encourage her but Maria answered instead.

"Then we'll use force to make our point!"

Cliff smacked his fist into his open palm, "I like that idea!"

"Rodger," Mirage said in agreement.

Peppita spun in a circle, "Yeah! We'll totally beat that guy up!"

"Yeah! 'Cause that's what men do!" Roger said.

Nel nodded, "It sounds like a plan,"

"For once we agree on something," Albel commented.

Adray laughed, "We will not fail!"

Sophia still looked hesitant, "Well, if you're all sure…"

They all walked through the door, leaving Fayt alone in the darkened streets to ask aloud, "Is there no one in this group that's level-headed?"

He could have stayed there all night pondering that question, but he quickly realized that he was holding their money so they needed him to get the rooms. Upon entering the inn Fayt saw that everyone else was just milling around and he rolled his eyes.

The lady behind the counter quoted the price and he was once again glad that everywhere, even underdeveloped planets, accepted Fol.

"I'm guessing you'll be needing two rooms?" she asked, looking over their group.

"Yes,"

The innkeeper frowned slightly, "Hmm, it could be a problem. I'm not sure we have a room large enough for six women."

Puzzled, Fayt made a face, "Huh? We only have five girls…"

The woman squinted and put her glasses back on, looking over their group again.

By now everyone had noticed the delay and Fayt decided to speed the process up, "Yes, I realize that he is essentially wearing a skirt and his midriff is showing but really, we only have five girls."

"Oh! I'm sorry…my mistake…" she exclaimed, sounding rather embarrassed, "I have _really_ bad eyesight and you know, it's dark, so…"

Fayt grinned, "Nah, it's okay, it's a common mistake."

"Ha ha," Albel said, sounding rather annoyed.

* * *

><p><strong>Argument<strong>

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

Fayt rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

"Geez, their at it again?" Sophia said, glancing over her shoulder.

Fayt rolled his eyes, "It wouldn't be right if they weren't."

The group was returning from a day out practicing their new 'teamwork'.

It hadn't gone over well.

"Seriously, I totally saw Nel dodge that Thunder Flare and let Albel get hit with it instead." Cliff mentioned.

"But that was in response to the battle before where he had pushed her into some moth poison." Mirage said.

Sophia shook her head, "But that was an accident…"

They all looked at her.

She bit her lip, "Oh, well, I thought it was accident…"

"No, that was payback for Nel tripping him when we were going across that bridge, which was payback for Albel not covering her when he was supposed too so that she got whacked while trying to cast Healing." Fayt recapped, "But that's as far as I can trace it back, I don't know who started this little war…today."

Maria shrugged, "You know they don't work well together, so why do you insist on partnering them up?"

He didn't bother replying.

"I don't know what the big deal is," Cliff said, "you know what they say about repressed se-"

Mirage punched him in the shoulder, "There are children present,"

He looked down at Peppita and Roger, who were talking amongst themselves about the day.

"Oh, sorry."

Fayt made a mental note to ask him about it later, because if he had any idea how to get them to shut up, even for five minutes, and not to kill each other, then it was an idea worth listening too.

"At least the rest of us made some progress." he commented, "We might be able to pull this off after all. Ever since we got from the Sphere Company, things seem to be getting worse…"

"Your right! Because at Sphere Company we totally kicked butt! Remember that fight against those two guys? The one with the whip and the one with the rocket pack?" Cliff said.

"You mean Berial and Belzeber?" Maria asked.

Cliff nodded, "Yeah, those guys! We won that pretty good, didn't we?"

Fayt frowned, remembering that day.

_*Flashback*_

The backlash of an attack caused Fayt to get tossed backwards, rolling a bit before shaking it off and standing. He stooped to pick up his sword and heard his name being called by Cliff.

"Guess what?"

Thinking it was something they could use to their tactical advantage, he called back, "What?"

"Whips hurt in 4D space, too!"

Fayt spared a brief moment to close his eyes and sigh before replying with a dry, "Thanks, Cliff."

"Your welcome!"

_*End flashback.*_

Any further conversation was cut off by Roger who looked back and declared, "Uh oh, their getting really heated now!"

Fayt chose to not even look, worried about what he might see.

"What if they get into a real fight?" Sophia asked, fiddling with a piece of hair.

Cliff shrugged, "Then Nel will win."

Confused, Fayt looked up at him, "How do you figure that?"

After all, Albel was the better attacker and Nel would need time to cast any Runology, time she probably wouldn't get.

"It's simple; Albel's got more hair to pull."

There was a pause and then everyone snickered, even Fayt who nodded, "Yeah, I guess you have a point there. Let's just hope it doesn't come to that."

Even though he had been thankfully silent the whole time, Adray took a deep breath and Fayt braced himself.

"It is only in my twilight years that I truly understand the depths of war and its complexities. Allowing me to enlighten you on what I have learned, I hope it will be of use."

He began a story and everyone rolled their eyes, used to the man telling long, boring stories when no one really wanted to hear them.

But, out of respect and maybe a little fear, no one told him to shut up.

"You did too, I saw it!" Nel shouted, followed by an equally loud and angry, "And I said I didn't, shut up worm!"

Fayt shook his head and mumbled, "And their older then me…"

* * *

><p><strong>Take 2<strong>

Fayt was standing on the sidelines watching over Sophia as she finished casting Symbology not only because someone needed too but also because it gave him a chance to observe how everyone was coming along with the 'teamwork'.

"Stand back!" Adray commanded, summoning up a super large explosion that covered the whole field and appeared to do minor damage to the snakes and moths they were fighting.

After Fayt blinked the spots from his eyes, he saw that everyone had backed off somewhat from the action, since no one could see or hear anything within the spelled zone.

"Well, that was helpful," Albel said sarcastically.

Maria waved away a bit of smoke, coughing slightly and then tried to aim her gun through the stuff.

She fired it off and Adray shouted, "Still standing!"

Maria lowered her gun, "Oops…"

Fayt let out a sigh as the rest of the people ran forward and finished off the two remaining snakes. All that remained was a single moth, floating around.

Fayt went to step forward, but Cliff shook his head, "I can take them on myself!"

Not feeling in the mood to argue, he merely waved his arm in a 'go ahead' motion and let Cliff run off, fists at the ready.

He raced in behind it and got hit with a face full of poison dust.

"Ouch!"

He tried again, with the same result.

"He does realize that it's shedding poison, right?" Sophia asked.

They saw him try a third time.

"Nope," Fayt said, tipping his head to one side as the blonde man chased the critter around the field.

"Get back here!"

Mirage shook her head as Cliff lurched back from another round only to stand up straight and shake his fist at the thing, "I'll get you yet!"

"It has-" Maria started to warn, but was cut off my Cliff continuing to yell at it.

She sighed while Sophia bit her lip, "Do you want me to take it out?"

"He'll figure it out," Mirage remarked, sounding unconcerned.

Another try and another fail occurred in front of them and Fayt turned to the rest of the group, "So, it's almost lunch time. Where should we eat?"

Cliff shouted from the field, "Guys, I think this moth is physic! It keeps hitting me somehow!"

They all ignored him and finally, apparently sick of watching the embarrassment, Maria shot the thing out of the air.

"Teamwork," she said.

* * *

><p><strong>Orders<strong>

The mountain pass leading to Airyglyph was always cold and snowing, and Fayt wondered if they ever had any other seasons here. They approached the frozen bridge and hovering of to one side was the dragon rider who had offered to take them to the mountains.

"What's he doing out here?" Fayt wondered aloud.

Everyone glanced over and Albel shrugged, "Oh, I told him to wait out there until I got back."

Fayt blinked and opened his hands wide, "And?"

"And what?" the other swordsman snapped, "I didn't come back, so he's still out here."

Speechless, Fayt just stared at him until he found the words to ask, "Wait, wait…he's been out here, _this whole time_? And what do you mean you didn't come back? Didn't you tell everyone where you were going?"

"No,"

Fayt face palmed.

Maria frowned, "So you never reported that you were in Crosell's cave?"

"No,"

She looked displeased, "How disrespectful."

Albel's hand went to his sword and Fayt waved her comment off before a fight could ensue, "I'm more worried about that guy!" he said, gesturing back to the dragon rider.

Sophia rubbed her hands over her arms, "Yes, it's cold…"

"And doesn't he have a life?" Mirage asked.

Albel shrugged, "He's still alive, what's the big deal?"

He started to walk towards the bridge, "Besides, it's not _my_ fault Vox died and can't order him back inside."

Fayt sighed, "Well, I'm glad we stopped by here so we can explain where you've been and hopefully get that guy inside."

Maria shook her head, "Talk about a lack of teamwork,"

"No kidding!" Fayt agreed.

* * *

><p><strong>Confusion<strong>

They passed through the gate in Kirsla and into the hills beyond, getting a nice view of the ocean off to one side.

"Why are we going here again?" Cliff asked.

Fayt glanced over his shoulder to answer, "There's an inventor in the training facility that I want to sign."

Maria sighed, "So we're going all the way there? What a waste of time!"

Sophia glared at her, "There's no use complaining about it!"

As they walked, most of the weaker monsters shied away from them, and wisely so, but a few got to close and were quickly vaporized by Adray's Laser Beams.

"_Is that necessary_?" Fayt wondered.

They rounded a bend and suddenly something leaped out at them, brandishing a sword that nearly hit Fayt.

Cliff punched the man in the face and he fell to the ground crying, "Glory to Airyglyph!"

Confused, Fayt leaned down to the knocked out soldier, "He's an Airyglyph soldier! Why'd he just attack us?"

Everyone naturally turned to their resident Glyphian who was being remarkably quiet. Before they could get any answers, two more soldiers ran out and tried to attack them. Feeling bad, Fayt just dodged in hopes that they would give up, although he wasn't so lucky.

"The war is over!" he said, trying to reason.

They obviously didn't believe him and continued to attack. Maria finally shot one on a low setting while Adray knocked out the other one with his ball of magic.

They both fell with the same cry as the first man, further confusing Fayt as he shook his head, "Seriously, they do know the war is over, right?"

"Well obviously they don't," Albel commented.

Cliff frowned, "But, it's been over for a long time, how could they not know?"

"Because their fools!"

Somehow that answer was exactly the type they had all been expecting, and Fayt sighed, "Somehow I thought you'd be nicer since you got that new sword."

"You thought wrong," Albel retorted.

Adray looked puzzled, "You would think they wouldn't have attacked us since you were with us. Or at least they should have allowed us a chance to reason with them."

He stepped over one of the downed soldiers, "If they don't know the war is over, then they don't know that Vox is dead. Thus, they probably don't know those treason charges were dropped."

"Oh," Fayt said, looking over the scenery for anymore soldiers, "should we try to explain it to them?"

Albel snorted, "Their not in my brigade. If old man Wolter is too lazy to explain to his people that the war is over, it's not my problem."

He continued towards the training facility and they all followed with Fayt hurrying to catch up to the front of the group.

"You once asked me why I thought Airyglyph lost the war. I didn't have a good answer but I think I finally know."

Fayt gestured behind them, "Garbage like this!"

Albel scowled and he continued, "You leave people out in the cold, you don't even tell them that the war is over…I mean, it's like none of you communicate at all. And then, you're all shocked that things aren't getting done."

Fayt sighed, "So, the short answer is that you lack collaboration."

There was a pause.

"That was all a set up so you could mention teamwork again, wasn't it?" Albel questioned.

"Yeah," he admitted.

Albel glared at him, "Maggot,"

* * *

><p><strong>Parameters <strong>

The Sphere Company building was really quite large, and since their last visit, a new, jazzing sounding music had started playing, reminding Fayt of the 80's on Earth.

They had been in Gemity and Fayt decided to pay the Company a visit and see if there was anything they could do to help their current weaknesses.

They entered the room where the 4D beings were hard at work, or at least, trying to look busy. He was pretty sure that one guy was playing solitaire. Blair greeted them and when they explained why they were here, she directed them to the woman who usually re-filled their health.

Her name escaped him at the moment.

"So, you usually fix our…parameters, so I was wondering if it was possible for you to modify them."

She looked confused, "How so?"

"Oh, I don't know…" Fayt said, trying not to sound pushy, "maybe…up our level? Give our stats a bit of a boost?"

She shook her head, "I'm sorry, but I'm not able to do that. See, we outsourced certain parts of the Eternal Sphere project."

"Outsourced?" he repeated.

The woman nodded, a smile on her face, "Yes."

"Where?"

"To 5D space, of course. They are quite good at programming and seem quite interested in games of all forms. They play a certain card game quite often and I believe they also enjoy motorcycles."

He gave her a weird look, completely thrown off by the strange sentence she just spoke.

"Err, anyway," he said, getting back on track, "what your saying is that you can't simply go inside my code or whatever and up my stats?"

"No, sorry."

"What about creating me some super awesome weapon?"

"I'm not able to do that, either."

Fayt glared at her, "You're just messing with me,"

"No!" the woman exclaimed, waving a hand in front of herself, "If I could, I would help you, but since we outsourced some of our work we can't alter your parameters that much."

He sighed and looked around the room before letting his gaze slide back to her, "How about a little extra Fol, then?"

"Oh, sorry, but that goes against our strict 'no-interference' policy."

Fayt's glare turned deadly, "Except releasing viruses into our universe to delete everything,"

She had the grace to look embarrassed, and ducked her head a little, hitting a few keys on her desk, "Again, I'm sorry."

It took a lot of will power not to unleash his grumpy team on the room and let them go crazy and destroy everything.

In fact, Fayt was starting to question that these 4D beings even created his world if they couldn't do a simply task like give him unlimited money.

"So, despite the fact that you created us and our whole universe, you can't actually do anything in it to help us because it's beyond your powers? Is that what you're saying?" he questions directly, leaning forward.

The woman swallowed and shrugged a little, "Well, I suppose that is what I'm saying…"

"In _my_ world, there's something called a GameShark, get one." Fayt spat out and then promptly turned on his heel and stomped out, calling over his shoulder, "Come on guys, we're leaving."

* * *

><p><strong>Take 3<strong>

"Die!" the helium voice of the black, gangly monster cried.

A black vortex appeared on the ground and Fayt wisely hopped out of it.

Rodger and Mirage didn't as they were still beating up on the Convictor.

Red bolts that resembled lightning struck them, sending them falling and knocking them out.

Fayt sighed and ran over to Sophia and Adray who were being covered by Maria, "We could use some healing."

Maria shook her head, "No, just zap them with a spell while their distracted."

"Hey, we have people down!"

"We can take care of them after the battle! Right now we should take advantage of the situation!"

"At the cost of lives?"

"They aren't dead yet!"

Fayt took a deep breath, trying not to lose his temper, although Sophia looked worried, "So, what Symbology am I using?"

"Healing!"

"Thunder Flare!"

Maria and Fayt glared at each other as Nel and Albel looked over, looking annoyed about the lack of direction from their team.

"What do you want us to do?" Nel asked, sounding irritated.

Maria glanced at them, "Attack the enemy with all your might!"

"No, focus on supporting your party!" Fayt snapped.

"Oh, are we lacking collaboration?" Albel commented snidely.

"Shut up Albel," Fayt said without looking at him.

Nel just sighed and charged up Symbology, apparently making her own choice about what was better.

"You aren't the leader here," Fayt snapped at Maria, who frowned, "And you are? I don't remember that being decided."

Before the fight could continue, Cliff and Peppita finished off the last one and won the battle.

"What'd I tell you, just leave it to me!" the Klausian said.

As the injured members of the group got some help at last, Maria sighed, "This isn't helping our efforts towards teamwork."

"Well, if you weren't so bossy…" Fayt muttered, sheathing his sword.

She looked insulted, "I'm not bossy! It's called being a good leader!"

"But you aren't!"

"I am too, I run Quark!"

"That's a terrorist group!"

Mirage came in between them, "Alright, both of you stop it!"

They obeyed, crossing their arms and looking away.

The female Klausian shook her head, "You too are acting very immature. Now, we barely won that battle, what are we going to do about it?"

Maria brushed hair over her shoulder, "I guess we do still have work to do,"

"Agreed." Fayt said.

Mirage nodded, "Very good. Any ideas?"

They both glanced at each other and then Maria sighed, "Maybe trying our luck on the battle field isn't the problem."

"You mean we should try to get along during normal circumstances before we put our lives on the line?" he replied.

She nodded and he sighed, "Alright, I guess that's a good plan."

* * *

><p><strong>Kids<strong>

Fayt awoke to the sound of birds singing and the wind rustling in the trees, coupled with a headache and backache that threatened to get worse as the day went on.

In the interest of building teamwork skills outside of battle, it had been decided, with many objections, to camp outside instead of stay at an inn the night before.

Regrettably and possibly predictably, it had turned into a disaster.

At first, everything seemed alright.

They had decided to go to Peterny to buy food for dinner as well as breakfast since no one wanted to try roasting any of the Executioners.

Roger had said he would eat them because real man could eat anything. Everyone had ignored him and opted for the real food.

After careful consideration, Fayt decided Mirage should be the one to go get said food. This was because, one, she needed the least work on her teamwork skills, and two, he trusted her to go and get the job done without issues along the way.

As he had been handing her the Fol, she made a comment about how it might not be a good idea to show their faces so much in towns and such.

He'd given her a blank stare, "Mirage, as much as I like your thoughts regarding the UP3, that ship has sailed. We didn't just start ignoring the UP3, we shredded it, crumpled it into a little ball, chewed it up and spit it out and then drop kicked it all the way to 4D Space."

Mirage hadn't said much about his mini rant, but he knew she probably didn't approve.

After that the problem became, as Nel had so annoyingly brought up, that they would have to assign someone to watch over the camp during the night in case the monsters tried anything.

Although this made since, she also commented that there were 'certain people whom she didn't feel would have everyone's best interest at heart when guarding'.

They all knew who she meant, and Fayt wondered why she didn't just come out and say it.

It had then been decided that Roger and Peppita weren't suited for watching the camp either and that they wouldn't need everyone to pitch in because of the large group.

Maria had bossed her way out of watching somehow and that left only a few teammates as options.

Fayt had just accepted staying up for a longer time to quell any arguments.

For about an hour after that everything appeared to be going well, until of course Roger ate not only his dinner but several portions of people's breakfasts. He'd then spent about two hours feeling sick and even throwing up.

Fayt had felt only mild sympathy for the Menodix since they'd all warned him not to do that. Pepptia had demanded a bedtime story and everyone more of less shoved Sophia into that job.

After that, it had been usual issues such as, Cliff snored, Pepptia talked in her sleep and Maria complained about the ground being uncomfortable.

Everyone wound up grumpy and snappish.

Fayt half sighed, half groaned as he rubbed his back, looking around to see that everyone appeared to be up already. Despite the fact that they weren't really talking to one another, they also weren't yelling.

Tiny arms wrapped around him from behind and he gasp as Peppita knocked the wind out of him.

"Fayt!" she cried in his ear, making him wince, "You're finally up!"

When she loosened her grip enough that he could wheeze in a breath, he nodded, "Yes, good morning Pepptia."

"Good morning!" she yelled again.

She left go and moved around him, a wide smile on her face that slightly frightened him.

"I have something for you!"

Fayt tried not to look worried.

"Ta da!"

Pepptia held her hands out and hanging between them was a crown made of a flower that closely resembled daisies.

Fayt smiled a little, "Oh, thanks…"

Pepptia promptly slapped it on his head and grinned, hooking her arms behind her back, "I made them this morning while you were dozing! I made enough for everyone!"

While he adjusted the crown on his head, he wondered if she really meant 'everyone'. He would pay Fol to see some people wearing one of these.

She pointed behind her, "Sophia let me braid her hair with flowers too! Even Mirage let me put one in hers."

He looked over and saw that she was right, although honestly her braids could use a little work.

The circus girl suddenly pouted, "Maria wouldn't let me."

Fayt shrugged, "That's just how Maria is,"

"Sophia says she's a b-"

"Pepptia!" Sophia interrupted, looking mortified by whatever the girl was going to say.

Fayt was just confused and looked between them, wondering what exactly she had been going to say.

"Don't you have more crowns to deliver?" Sophia redirected.

Pepptia nodded, "Oh, yeah!"

She ran over to a pile of them, some made with different colors and then hurried over to the rest of the group.

Fayt had to admit, it was highly amusing watching her hand the things out. Roger's was too big and ended up as a necklace instead, but he actually wore it.

She handed one to Adray, and he stared at it for a moment, "This reminds me of when Clair was young…"

Fayt rolled his eyes, knowing that a boring story was coming.

"She used to make these with the flowers we grew in-"

Nel tactically interrupted him by asking if Peppita had one for her. The girl held one up and Nel actually kneeled so she could put it on her head.

Cliff had attempted to refuse, but Mirage and Pepptia finally charmed the flowery jewelry on top of his head.

Pepptia ran over to the last member and held up a rather bright circlet of flowers.

"You jest," Albel said, glaring at her.

Unfazed, the girl just smiled wider, "Nope!"

"I am not wearing that, girl."

"C'mon! It'll look good!"

Fayt tried not to laugh at the amazingly awkward picture.

Peppita went up on tip toes and tapped him with the crown, in which Albel responded by stepping away from as if it would bite.

"Pleaseeeeeee?" she whined.

"No!"

Cliff, still wearing his own white flowers, walked over and slapped the other man on the back, "Oh, come on!"

Albel snarled at him while Peppita tipped her head to one side, "I made it just for you,"

"I refuse to humiliate myself when there is absolutely nothing to gain by doing so. I have been _extremely_ lenient in not murdering all of you maggots while you insist on working on this ridiculous notion of loathsome teamwork. I-"

Before he could continue his rant, Cliff plucked the daisy crown from Pepptia's hands and set it on top of Albel's head.

"Shut up and wear the crown, pigtails." the Klausian said with a smile.

Albel turned slowly to glare at him, hands tightening into fists, obviously itching to kill someone or something.

Pepptia clapped her hands, "Yay! You look so pretty now!"

The swordsman grimaced and Fayt disguised a snicker into a cough at the scene.

Nel wandered by and smirked, "That's a good look for you, Nox.

"Shut up Zelpher!" he snapped back, shaking a fist at her.

While he was looking the other way, Fayt discreetly flipped his Communicator to picture mode and snapped a shot.

It wasn't the first time he'd documented amusing things during their travels, and this was certainly picture worthy.

Pepptia tugged on one of Albel's braids and he spun around, yanking it out of her grasp with some effort. After all, she was deceptively strong.

"Let go worm!"

She grinned, "Oh wow! Your hair is _so_ pretty! Will you let me braid it? I can put flowers in it! It would be longer then even Mirage's! Or Maria's!"

Everyone dissolved into laughter, and Fayt couldn't help himself from following that lead.

Albel took a deep breath and then stalked off, muttering, "I really need to kill something."

Fayt felt sorry for the first monster they crossed paths with.

* * *

><p><strong>Shipping<strong>

They were on their way towards Aquios again to check out some new items that had gone on sell at their shop, and since it was early in the day, Fayt had every belief that they would get their before night fell, which meant they wouldn't have to camp out again.

Somehow the group had fractured into both genders walking in their own groups with the girls a few feet back on the path.

They weren't speaking, but that might be best as no one seemed to be able to hold a conversation without an argument starting. Fayt was just enjoying the scenery when Cliff had to go and break the calm.

"So, Fayt, are you and Sophia an 'item'?"

His head snapped up so fast he got whiplash, "Huh?"

It was actually a way to stall for time, since he'd heard the question perfectly the first time.

Cliff repeated it and he let his gaze wandered, "Uh…"

"Someone run me through right now…" Albel remarked from a step ahead.

Cliff frowned, "What's eating you?"

"This is the most inane conversation topic you could possibly bring up, worm." he replied over his shoulder.

Fayt breathed a sigh of relief, "_I owe him one for taking the pressure off of me_…" he thought gratefully. Cliff would be distracted by the banter now and chances were he wouldn't ask such a thing again. At least, Fayt desperately hoped he wouldn't. This was not the time or the place for that sort of conversation, and being put on the spot wasn't his idea of fun.

And just as expected, Cliff was already distracted. That happened often.

"Oh come on, like you don't have some sort of opinion on this?"

Adray suddenly laughed noisily, "Ah! To be young again!"

They ignored him.

"I didn't say I didn't have an opinion, I said it was inane. What possible use could there be in discussing something so…trivial." Albel commented.

Cliff smirked and crossed his arm, "I think you're just scared to say anything!"

Fayt rolled his eyes, "_And there's a dare_…"

"I am not!"

"_And here comes the response to the dare_…"

"You are too," Cliff said.

The other man snorted, "Fine, if you want my opinion so badly, I'll give it too you."

"Oh no…" Fayt mumbled, rubbing his forehead. Everyone knew that you never got Albel Nox started on a rant.

"I have thought of murdering Sophia since she's so irritating,"

"Hey!" Fayt said, offended.

Albel rolled his eyes, "I said _thought_ about, not that I'd actually do it!"

He continued, "Maria is obnoxious as well, although for entirely different reasons, and she's flat. If Mirage is anything like Cliff, then it's best to stay away,"

"Hey!" Cliff mimicked Fayt.

"Besides, blondes aren't my type. And Pepptia is a child, so we can ignore her completely. If she was quiet, that is. As it stands now, she's so loud the people in Greeton can hear her."

Fayt frowned, "Actually, Pepptia is fourteen."

Adray, Cliff and Albel looked at him dubiously.

"Really! She is," he said, waving his hands in front of himself.

They walked for a second and then Cliff shrugged, "You didn't mention Nel,"

"…As much as I hate to admit it, she is the most appealing to look at. Too bad it's wasted beauty on an Aquarian wench."

Cliff looked thoughtful, "Hmm, I can't argue with that…"

Fayt sighed, "_How did our conversation dissolve into this_?" he wondered in dismay, "_I feel like I'm back in junior high!_"

Meanwhile, they had apparently continued along this train of thought while Fayt tried to think of some way to steer the conversation into anything other then this.

"You and Nel?" Albel said scornfully, "She's out of your league,"

Cliff looked insulted, "And she's in yours, pigtails?"

Roger poked a thumb at his chest, "She's not in any of your leagues, she's in mine!"

They all glanced at him and he grinned, "As are all the other lovely ladies!"

Fayt rolled his eyes again.

"I mean, Mirage can't even stop saying my name!"

They all exchanged confused looks and Fayt rubbed the back of his head, "Um, Roger, when Mirage is saying 'Rodger,' she's not actually saying your name. It's a word where we come from that is a form of agreement or affirmation."

The Menodix scoffed and looked away haughtily, "You can't try and spin a tale, mister! You're just jealous!"

"Uh, not really…"

Roger pointed up at him, "Sure are, and I know it! Besides, even Sophia says I'm cute!"

"She meant in the sense of a _pet_," Albel remarked, which caused Roger to fluff his tail in anger.

"Hey! Shup' man! You're just jealous too!"

They ignored him.

"What about you and Mirage, Cliff?" Fayt asked as payback for earlier.

The blonde man rubbed the back of his head, "Eh…no comment."

Fayt rolled his eyes a third time.

Adray coughed lightly and mentioned as causally as Adray could mention anything, "You know, I have a daughter named Clair,"

"_Oh God, here we go_…" Fayt thought, moaning inwardly. Every man they met and had more then a five second conversation with was offered Clair's hand in marriage by Adray. Fayt felt sorry for her but also glad that Adray hadn't mentioned it to him.

Not yet, anyway.

"…and she's smart too!" he said, finishing the long list of amazing things about her.

Cliff held his hands up defensively, "Yo, you already asked me, I said no."

"Hmm, true," Adray said, turning instead to look at Albel.

He just stared back impassively, "How desperate _are_ you, old man?"

Roger perked up, "Hey, hey! Tell me more abut this girl. Clair, right? Sounds pretty,"

Fayt sighed again, "_Whatever the girls are talking about, it can't be this bad…_"

"Isn't Fayt adorable?" Sophia cooed.

Maria made a face, "He has many admirable qualities, but 'adorable' isn't the word I would chose,"

Sophia glared daggers at her, "_Who does she think she is_?"

Peppita giggled, "You like him! You like him!" she sang.

"Someone slit my throat right now…" Nel muttered from the back of the group.

Mirage laughed beside her, "You don't take well to this kind of conversation?"

"It just seems so…inane." the Runologist said, shrugging, "Surely we can come up with a better topic?"

Sophia glanced back, annoyed at the gloomy among them but not able to stay mad forever.

"So, you don't like anyone?" she asked.

Nel gave her a weird look, "What does it matter? Besides, are we or are we not in the middle of some very important duties right now?"

Sophia shook her head at the non-answer and Mirage smirked, "Oh, play along Nel; don't be a stick in the mud!"

Pepptia skipped forward and spun in a circle, "I betcha their talking about us, too!"

"Oh please, they are not!" Maria commented, "They are likely talking about something far more important."

Peppita stuck her tongue out at the Quark leader and Sophia smiled at the display.

"More likely Adray is regaling then with some story…" Nel said.

They all had a chuckle at that, and then Sophia glanced at Mirage, "What about you?"

"Me? Oh, I haven't had much time to think about sort of thing, actually."

Sophia was disappointed, "Oh, that's too bad."

"_Don't you worry Mirage, I've got a plan for you, too_!"

As an avid shipper, Sophia would not rest until everyone in their group was paired with someone special.

Except Maria.

There weren't enough guys to go around, anyway, she could have that overly cheerful guy on the Diplo or no one at all. That would suit Sophia just fine.

Unless, of course, she wanted to paired with Adray.

Glancing at Pepptia, she thought the girl would be quite cute with the Menodix, Roger. They would make such a darling item!

She sighed just thinking about it.

As for the other two, she had plans for them as well.

And, if none of these plans worked out, she could go for swapping the couples around.

As much as she hated to even think about letting Fayt go, he and Mirage, despite the overwhelming age difference, would have very cute children.

Not to mention that any kids between him and Nel would be ridiculous good at fighting, even if the two had no chemistry together whatsoever.

She could still dream, that was her right as a shipper.

"So…" Sophia said at last, trying to sound casual, "You have nothing to add to this topic, Nel?"

The woman sighed and shrugged, "I don't know what you want me to say…I trust everyone here, and honestly that is my most treasured belonging. If you're asking about love, I can't add a thing to that."

Sophia decided to try the direct approach, "What about Albel?"

Nel burst out laughing.

Everyone stopped to look at her, since Nel Zelpher never, ever, laughed.

She composed herself and then looked up, "Oh, you were serious?"

"Well, kinda…" Sophia admitted.

Nel shook her head, "We're more liable to murder each other, honestly."

"But he's so glamorous!" Sophia countered, undeterred.

"So much so maybe he should be back here talking with the rest of us ladies," Nel said flippantly.

Mirage fake-winced, "Oh, burn!"

Sophia sighed, "_I guess it will take a little longer to complete my ultimate plan_…_I bet those boys are talking about something boring up there…_"

* * *

><p><strong>Why?<strong>

They were slogging through a rainstorm, going back towards Petenry, when Albel suddenly stopped, wrung out his hair and mentioned, "Why isn't your celestial ship just transporting us to our locations instantly, worms?"

Fayt stopped, blinked, and then looked to the rest of the team.

"Yeah, why not?"

* * *

><p><strong>Take 4<strong>

The Enforcer was shocked by another Thunder Flare. Fayt whooped, "Yes! Keep those up guys!"

While the Symbologists in their group continued to cast that spell, the rest of them were slashing at the giant beast, trying to avoid getting hit when it still fired off an attack at them.

When it did, someone was ready with Healing and the right raged on.

"_Finally_!" Fayt thought, coming down from a jump-slash, "_We're starting to get this teamwork thing down_!"

The Enforcer cried out and then fell, bursting into sparkling lights before fading completely.

Everyone caught their breath, and just as Fayt was about to say 'well done', an argument broke out.

"It's a waste of energy if you continue to punch at empty air!" Nel scolded Cliff, who frowned, "That's how I fight,"

"Attacking nothing? If your first punch misses, why keep at it?" she retorted.

He crossed his arms, "Well, aren't we all high and mighty!"

"She's Aquarian, what do you expect?" Albel sneered from a few feet away.

Nel turned and glared at him, "Oh, shut up Nox, no one asked you."

Maria replaced her gun and tucked hair behind her ear, "I don't think this is the time to be fighting over tactics, we won, right?"

Fayt nodded, "Yeah! Let's celebrate!"

They had never beaten an Enforcer before, and with their new strategy, they might have a chance at defeating another.

"Besides," Maria added, turning halfway around, "it seems unlikely that anyone from an underdeveloped planet would have any advice to improve our tactics."

Fayt closed his eyes, annoyed at her attitude and knowing where this was going.

"What?" Nel said, sheathing her daggers with more force then was necessary.

Albel rolled his eyes, "Talk about high and mighty,"

Roger pointed up at her, "Yeah! Who do you think you are, lady!"

Mirage sighed, "I'm sure she didn't mean it to sound that rude,"

Nel snorted and walked away, obviously mad, while Roger scampered after her and Sophia put her rod away and mentioned, "That Maria sure is mean!"

Cliff shrugged, "So was Nel! I'm an excellent fighter!"

They all grumbled about one thing or another while walking away and Fayt glared sideways at Maria.

She noticed and shrugged, "I was merely stating the truth,"

"Yeah, well now everyone's fighting again,"

She shrugged again and brushed at her hair again, starting to walk off as well. Fayt followed and, as he got closer, he heard Adray speaking.

"Anger is like a dragon,"

A few people rolled their eyes.

"In fact, I remember when I was younger I once fought a dragon! Not a sky dragon, a large black scaled dragon! It impacted me so much that I shall share the story with you! I'm sure it will be beneficial!"

He sounded so excited that it almost made the idea of another Adray story bearable.

"Oh great, story time…" Albel complained, saying what everyone was thinking.

* * *

><p><strong>Competition<strong>

While the others went to Petenry and gathered up the last supplies they needed, Fayt decided he would go finish the map of the Duggus Forest.

It was almost complete and he didn't feel like spending anytime with a few members of their team.

Sophia had tagged along claiming that they didn't get to spend enough time together, while about halfway there they noticed that Albel was following them.

When asked why, he said that he couldn't spend another day in that horrid town, unless of course they wanted some random person to get murdered.

Fayt had just sighed and let him come along, although Sophia seemed annoyed by his decision.

He didn't care; Fayt had given up trying to please everyone a long time ago.

The forest was a maze of twists and turns and everything started to look the same after about an hour, in which case Sophia looked worried, "Are we lost?"

"Nah, but I'm not sure where I'm missing on this map…" Fayt replied, looking around.

They were attacked by a witch, who threw some stars at them, but she was quickly defeated with one swing of Albel's katana.

"Seriously, they're actually going to attack us?" Sophia said, sounding surprised, "I just assumed that they would stay away…"

The group started walking again and soon found the same fairy from before, who offered to guide them through the woods.

It only took them a moment to find an old tree that was really a monster, and it sprang to life with a roar.

While Sophia charged a spell, Fayt ran across the field toward the tree only to have it dead by the time he got there via Albel.

After the tree died, it was obvious that it only gained them a little on the map.

Fayt frowned and walked around the new area, and then back out, where he picked up a little extra.

"Oh, it's corners and walls again…" he muttered, annoyed.

They proceeded to walk slowly, practically kissing the walls of trees, to get the remaining 10% on the map.

It didn't take long for another set of enemies, this time a group of creepy dolls, to ambush them.

Fayt glanced at his comrades to see them doing nothing, apparently waiting for him to finish off the little beasts. He shrugged and ran forward, swiping at the first one, then the second, and finally rushing at the third.

Just as he was about to slash his sword, a burst of air cut the thing in half.

Fayt skidded to a stop and frowned, and then gave Albel a sidelong glance, "Sheesh, you could let someone else take it out! It's not a competition or anything."

The other swordsman said nothing, merely shrugged, and with a quick eye roll, they were off again.

After about another half hour, about 8% remained on the map.

Dolls and a witch raced at them when they turned a corner, and Fayt cut down the first one that came at him while Sophia took stance for Symbology.

There was one left, across the field, and Fayt ran at it, sword raised, only to have Albel slide in front of him to claim the win.

"Just another worm…"

"Yes, but it was _my_ worm!" Fayt complained, glaring at him.

Albel glanced over his shoulder at him, "I thought you said it wasn't a competition,"

"Well, maybe it is!" he retorted.

They both put their weapons away, "Fine,

"Fine!"

Over two hours later, the threesome emerged from the Duggus Forest with a complete map, a Scale Bunny, and plenty of leaves and twigs attached to their clothing.

Fayt stomped into the sunlight and blinked before rounded on the other two, "Sophia, final score?"

"Sixty four to fourteen…" she recited in a bored fashion.

He swore and Albel laughed.

They walked ahead and Sophia threw up her hands, "Oh no, don't worry about me! I'll just be content to have a score of zero…"

* * *

><p><strong>Creation<strong>

It was an effort to get everyone up at the crack of dawn and herd them into the workshop in Petenry, but it would be worth it.

He hoped, anyway.

Fayt looked over the sleepy and annoyed faces after explaining to Welch that they needed to borrow the whole place for the day. She's argued until he mentioned that they would, of course, pay for the time spent here.

Then she was gone faster then the speed of light.

"Alright, we're here to work on our teamwork," he said, earning quite a few aggravated groans.

He felt the hold on his temper loosening, "Look, it's not my idea of fun either, but it's the last thing I can think of! If we can find some common ground, if you all have to work together to make something useful, then it might not turn into a complete disaster. Our only other option is to talk it out."

Fayt swore he could hear crickets chirping somewhere nearby.

"That's what I thought," he turned and picked up their skill sets, and he flipped through the people, looking over each one's abilities.

"All the girls are good at cooking and all the guys are good at the smithy? Really?" he mumbled, shaking his head before setting down the information and looking back up.

With a deep breath, Fayt assigned the first groups, "Okay, Roger and Peppita, I want you to…um…alchemy…something."

They both looked at each other and shrugged, skipping off towards the first open room.

"Next, I want Cliff and Adray to try a little writing. Nel and Albel, you're going to engineer…something. Sophia and Mirage, why don't you try cooking? That leaves me and Maria and we'll…make a weapon."

He looked up and everyone looked distastefully around the rooms and then shuffled off to get to work.

Maria looked confused, "You've put people on things they might not be good at. Nel and Albel have no idea how to engineer anything."

"I know," he retorted, already put off by her bossy attitude, "that's the idea. I'm hoping it will force teamwork."

She sighed, "I suppose it's worth a shot. Let's just get this over with."

They set to work, but it only took three minutes for Maria to find something wrong.

"You know, you're not doing that right," she nagged.

Fayt took a deep, calming breath, and continued working.

After the full half hour, everyone gathered back together to show what they made.

Cliff held up some sort of book that didn't look quite right.

"Uh, writing is so hard!" he complained, handing over the item.

Fayt held it in his hands, trying not to make a face, "Wow, a book that's glued together…thanks…"

"We made this!" Pepptia said proudly, holding up a familiar brown rock.

"A repulsive lump," Fayt said dryly, "hurray."

Maria snorted, "Well, ours is a mind melting rod, so I'm not sure why you're acting like that,"

He shot her a quick glare and then turned to Sophia and Mirage, "How'd it go?"

"Just fine," they both said, nodding.

"_Thank goodness someone got along_…"

They had made curry, but it was ridiculously sweet, which Sophia apologized for.

Nel shoved a round object into his hands, "Here,"

Fayt looked it over, and then held it at arms length once he realized what it was, "You guys actually made a bomb?"

They both shrugged, and he swallowed, setting it down carefully and hoping it wasn't about to explode in his face.

"Okay, let's switch up the groups and tasks and we'll give it another round! Hey Cliff, why don't you try alchemy?"

The Klausian grinned, "How hard could it be?"

He picked up a handful of rocks, stared them, and then threw them back on the table, "Screw that," he muttered, and then turned back to Fayt, "Hey, you only put me on a line for 100 Fol!"

"Yeah, so?"

"I want 5,000 to try again," Cliff said, crossing his arms.

Fayt gave him a look, "Uh, no, not happening."

Without allowing time for further whining, he looked around and started handing out more assignments.

"This is going well, isn't it?" he said cheerfully after a moment.

*_Some time later_…*

Fayt tried his best to put on an interested face as Adray prattled on about some story of some supposedly famous battle that he'd been in a long time ago.

Honestly, he'd stopped listening about ten minutes ago and was trying to focus on the task at hand. He had decided to try to craft something, but so far, all he had made was a tacky looking bracelet.

A loud explosion interrupted Adray mid-sentence about a giant chicken.

"What in the-" Fayt exclaimed, standing up and hurrying out into the main area. Once there he saw Cliff and Albel just sitting there, looking bored.

His eyes narrowed, "Why aren't you guys cooking?"

They both glanced at each other and exchanged what looked like a stifled laugh, prompting Fayt to go over and peek in the kitchen.

His eyes widened at the mess he encountered.

Everything was ruined and burned, items were strewn across the floors, and most of the larger objects had been mysteriously smashed and slashed.

Fayt stepped back and let the door close silently in front of him.

He turned around, "I don't suppose the two of you have any idea how this happened, do you?"

Cliff grinned sheepishly, "Maybe…"

"_Guys_! I know cooking isn't your favorite thing, but really, we're supposed to be working on teamwork!"

Albel managed to look somewhat insulted, "Hey, we know the value of teamwork, maggot. Don't we Cliff?"

"Yeah! Without _teamwork_ we wouldn't have been able to ruin that kitchen in only two minutes!"

Fayt face palmed while they both laughed and exchanged a high-five.

Another door was promptly slammed open and a sobbing Sophia came running out, covered in black soot.

"_Oh right, the explosion_," he thought, catching her by the shoulders.

"Sophia, what in the world happened?"

She stomped her foot, "Ugh! I hate Maria! She's so…so…."

"Bossy, arrogant, selfish, annoying, uptight?" Albel said helpfully.

Cliff added, "Snobby?"

"_Awful_!" Sophia screeched.

Fayt took a step back, hands held up defensively, startled by her outburst.

"I can't work with her, I can't do it! She's always telling me I'm not doing something right, and then she won't let me help anymore!"

Before he could deal with the issue at hand, Mirage came storming out of another one of the rooms and glared at Fayt, which made him wince.

"I refuse to be in the same room with that little creature for another minute!"

Fayt swallowed, "Err, why?"

Her eyes narrowed, "Because, I don't exactly like him touching me!"

"Wait, where is he now?"

"I drop kicked him!" she screamed, punching a nearby wall, which formed a hole in it.

Cliff chuckled, "Woah! You made Mirage mad! I haven't seen that in a while…"

Pepptia came skipping out, "What's happening?"

Everyone started talking at once, trying to tell everyone else about what they had just endured, and Fayt sighed, sat down on one of the stools, and let his head fall on the counter.

* * *

><p><strong>Teamwork<strong>

Fayt left Castle Aquaria and wandered down its steps into the bright sunlight. It was morning, and everyone else had already left the castle, meaning they would be waiting outside somewhere.

They may not have reached their goals on the topic of teamwork, but it wouldn't be possible to continuing training as Blair had finally gotten back to them.

They knew where the gate leading to Luther was, and they didn't have any more time to waste.

He only hoped they wouldn't kill each other before getting there.

The group had gathered on the Moonlit Bridge in what appeared to be an orderly, pleasant fashion.

Fayt's eyes narrowed and he approached cautiously, wondering if he was actually still asleep and dreaming.

They seemed to be getting along, actually, even with the unlikely way they had spilt off to talk.

"Her voice, it's more irritating then anything else I've ever heard!" Albel complained.

Nel nodded, "I know! The harpies of the Sanmite Republic aren't as high-pitched as Farleen!"

Cliff looked thoughtful while he stood with Adray, who was of course talking about something using more words then were really necessary.

"I guess you have a point there. If I'm wasting all my energy before actually hitting the enemies, then it's probably not a good move." Cliff replied afterwards.

Sophia snipped off a piece of thread and smiled, "There you go! All fixed," she declared at Maria.

"Thank you, it would have been a bother if my sleeve fell off halfway through the battle with Luther." the bluenette commented, brushing back her hair.

Roger was yelling on the ground, his foot tangled in what looked like some sort of net. Mirage was kneeling beside him, attempting to untangle the poor little Menodix while a string of colorful words were coming from his mouth.

Pepptia, who had been previously twirling around the group, stopped and tossed a double handful of petals into the air, showering them all. No appeared annoyed, and Maria even smiled a bit at the scene.

Fayt stood there, dumbfounded, until Maria finally noticed him and then drew everyone else's attention by saying; "Oh, there you are Fayt."

He resisted the urge to take a step backwards and warily scanned them, "Who are you and what did you do with my real friends?"

It was a joke, although he was seriously disturbed by both their actions and the way Maria had greeted him. Her voice sounded suspicious.

"Yo!" Cliff said, waving, "We just took your advice,"

Nel, who looked like she was smirking, crossed her arms, "You know, about finding common ground?"

"Yeah! We all decided we wanted to kick Luther's butt, so that's common ground, isn't it?" Roger said nosily.

"Um…sure," he answered, trying not to fidget.

Mirage stood up, tossing away the net that had previously been bothering Roger and nodded, "And we also talked a bit,"

"And decided that we have more in common then just our end goal." Maria added.

Peppita clasped her hands behind her back and gave a little pout, "Yeah, we all hate working on our teamwork! Hate it!"

Fayt had to chuckle and held up his hands, "Okay, I get it; we'll stop working on it."

Adray laughed, "We shall become invincible!"

"Let's go save the universe!" Sophia announced, earning a chorus of agreement.

He walked over the rest of the way, pleased that they were off to a good start, and also wondering if he'd made too big a deal out of this to begin with.

After all, they had made it through some tough situations before, and he would have to trust that they could do it again.

They would pull through, no matter what, putting aside their issues and mistrust and annoyances to what needed to be done.

Fayt smiled as they neared the end of the bridge, taking the lead once again.

"Oh, and Fayt?"

He glanced over his shoulder to see Albel with a smirk on his face. He had no time to react as the other man gave him a shove, "We also decided we get along fine when _you're_ not around!"

Fayt tumbled over the side of the bridge, being lucky that it was only a few feet down from that end, and splashed into water.

He broke the surface and looked up at his so called friends laughing their heads off at his expense.

"…Talk about teamwork…" he muttered, swimming towards the shore.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Um...yeah, I did feel better after writing this to complain...<strong>

**That first battle, seriously what happened every battle with those annoying angel things. I took it directly from the game and imported it. It is true.**

**Has anyone else noticed while playing this game that there are *no* even-keeled people in your group? It doesn't matter who you chose, their all crazy. And..I'm sorry, but Albel, your outfit is stupid. No amount of armored hand is going to change that, either.**

**I realize Nel and Albel are out of character, but I have this picture in my head of them fighting like 5 year olds. Did not, did too...**

**I. Hate. Explosion. I do, I really, really do. It's the biggest waste of MP and I can never see what's happening. In fact, when Fayt learned it in the game I looked at my brother and said, "Oh good, Fayt learned waste of MP!"**

**That poor dragon rider is out there, in the cold, all the time. lol.**

**My brother did go to the mining facility to get an inventory (for all the good it did him!) and we laughed for a good five minutes about the morons from Airygylph attacking us..I personally found it amusing when one tried hit to Albel and he killed him...**

**The people at Square, I mean SPHERE can't level you up or give you money or better equipment? That is the dumbest thing I ever heard of.**

**Again, your chosen people in this game are bossy! All of them! Its a wonder anything gets done...**

**Can you seriously picture this group camping? I didn't think so...and lol, the UP3 is dead. **

**...I'll get flamed for this, but what the heck...I find every pairing, cannon and fannon, in this game to be stupid and unrealstic. There, I said it, and I'll admit there are some fan-pairings that are actually better then the cannon ones in this game. I mean...have you watched the endings? Anyway, that scene above was made just so I could take a little jab at the pairings. And, as one youtbe commenter posted "Fayt + Pepptia = Fayt going to jail" lol.**

**Why doesn't the ship just beam them from one place to another? Why must we WALK?**

**Cliff will just punch the air in battle...the AI on this game needs work...I call it "Waste of Fury!". But aside from that, the above startegy to fight the Enforcers WORKS. I came up with it and even my brother was impressed. You'll need one Symbolgist in the group, and you'll need control over them. Have them continue to cast Thunder Flare (if you time it right you can do it without draining your fury compltely) and time it correctly so that it's one after the other. This will make the Enforcer freeze in place and unable to attack, and then the other 2 characters can move in and attack. Keep this up and before you know it, it will die. If your timing fails or the Enforcer breaks free, he'll come after the Symboligist, so just run until your other characters catch up and start hacking again. Then just rinse and repeat!**

**The forest...hahahaha. Funny story here...my brother went to finish the map there and then left the room, so I took over and got into a few battles. Everytime I(playing as Fayt at the time even though I have issues making him do what I want, it's worse when the computer is playing him)would go to attack a monster, Albel would jump in and kill it and I'd have to hear his stupid ending sentace. (Okay, to be fair, everyone's ending sayings are annoying) So I tested it once by standing there when the battle started, and not doing anything. Albel just stood there too, but the moment I moved, he slide in and killed it. My brother comes back, takes over, and the same thing happens to him. I swear, the AI was messing with us!**

**Inventing might just be the most fun part of this game...and not really for any good reasons. Have you ever had Cliff write or Albel cook? If not, go plug your game in right now and do it. The animations...lol. Anyway, the first time my brother tried inventing, he had Cliff on Alchmy and within 10 seconds his line had stopped and the messaged popped up. Then, the screen returns with him wanting 5,000 to go again. We laughed, so hard. That's what inspired that part of this fanfic. My brother also says this game is sexist since all the guys aren't very good at cooking and the girls are.**

**I don't really have anything to say...if you actualyl read this, then...I'm sort of sorry. lol. It's my rant, but I did enjoy this game...up until we couldn't finish it. Anyway, until next time!**


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